• September is the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

The “Lotus Tower” in Colombo will join iconic structures and places in the world such as White House in the US, Niagara falls in Canada and BT Tower in London, to be illuminated in gold colour, to mark child cancer awareness, a statement from the Sri Lanka College of Oncologists said.

Issuing a statement, Dr. Sanjeeva Gunasekera, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at the Apeksha Hospital said “September is dedicated to raising awareness about childhood cancer, support children with cancer and their caregivers, celebrate cancer survivors and remember children who are not with us anymore. This year is of added significance to us, as Sri Lanka was selected as one of the countries for the implementation of the World Health Organisation’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. Although the Covid pandemic restricted our planned activities, we marked this month, by participating in international childhood cancer activities, taking our stories to the world, conducting a series of webinars targeting medical professionals, university students and the general public and will culminate in lighting up of the “Lotus Tower” in gold colour. We very much appreciate the support given by the Sri Lanka College of Oncologists (SLCO) and the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) of the Ministry of Health in all these activities.”

September is the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Gold is the colour associated with childhood cancer, denoting the preciousness and the resilience of the children with cancer.